A Tales of Two Cities

by Geoff Kelly, photos by Clark Dever

A photo exhibit at Grant Street Gallery compares Buffalo's devestated blocks to post-Katrina New Orleans

In March 2006, Clark Dever, a Buffalo-based photojournalist and activist, recruited 65 of his fellow UB undergraduates to travel to New Orleans during their spring break to take part in the ongoing relief effort. He brought his camera and recorded the devastation he encountered there, nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina.

Earlier this year, Dever and two friends were training for the Buffalo Marathon, and their runs took them through some of the most decrepit, poverty-stricken neighborhoods on the city’s East and West Sides. Dever was struck by the similarities to what he had seen and photographed in New Orleans—from the vacant lots strewn with debris to the spray paint used to mark houses for demolition.

So he returned with his camera, and the result is an exhibit titled When the Financial Levies Broke. The show opens next Friday, July 10, at the Grant Street Gallery (216 Grant Street, just south of Lafayette). Representatives from PUSH Buffalo, Buffalo ReUse, and Buffalo First will be in attendance to answer questions about their organizations’ efforts to address the city’s poverty and housing issues.

—geoff kelly